From the last half-month of the Spring Festival, the market for steel products has dropped significantly. Steel prices also remained relatively stable, no matter the futures market or the spot market, there has been no major fluctuations. Near the festive season, the terminal demand is almost stagnant, most of the steel traders have been in a semi-vacation status, the market should be difficult before the holiday there is no major fluctuations.
Data monitoring shows that as of January 30, the average price of domestic third grade rebar is 4039 yuan (t price, the same below). In the recent half month, the price has been fluctuating up and down at 4050 yuan, with an increase of no more than 50 yuan. The futures price 3950 yuan also around the line, consolidation run.
The latest issue of LGE Steel PMI statistics show that in January 2018 the total index was 46.2, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month, showing a decline in the activity of the steel distribution market. Demand decline is the most direct factor in the decline in market activity, the January order index was only 42.4%, said the steel terminal demand procurement is in a very inactive stage. It is understood that most traders have also been in the holiday or semi-holiday status, very few shipments.
Zhang Yahui, chairman of Beijing-Hong Kong Trade Co., Ltd., said the company is scheduled to take a holiday on February 10 but is now in a semi-holiday status with some employees returning home early. Although the company is still open at present, the shipping situation is not very good, basically in a semi-stagnant state. Beijing Golden Daewoo Trading Co., Ltd. Chairman Yan Fei said the company will be fully holiday next week, there are basically no shipments.
In addition, due to the current price is still high consolidation, although the social stock of steel after a continuous rise, still at a relatively low, but the winter storage companies are not many. Yan Fei said they did not have a winter storage plan, although he also believes that the overall market will rise next year, but for postganglionic market trends, he felt it was hard to predict. As China and Hong Kong trade as a steel mill agreement, their winter reserves are only normal agreement, and no further winter reserve. For the current market, Zhang Yahui said the market price before the holiday has been difficult to come down again, on the one hand had no deal, on the other hand, the stock is not large.
With the holiday approaching, the terminal demand will continue to decline, with the exception of a few key projects, most of the other projects have been suspended, or even fully stagnant. Traders will also gradually enter the state of full holiday, the market will become increasingly deserted, the domestic steel market basically in a stable state. Xu Lanying, a researcher at Lange Steel Research Institute, said that from January to February, due to the impact of the cold weather and the traditional festival Spring Festival, the demand for steel was almost stagnant. Iron and steel trade enterprises in January sales decline, terminal purchase orders decreased slightly, taking into account the Spring Festival factor, is expected in February steel market demand weakness.
